In the panelized and modular construction industry the assembly of panels and building components of the frame of a building is performed in a shop. The panels are then transported from the shop to the job site where they are used in the construction of the building. In panelized construction, laborers assemble groups of the cooperative panels for shipment to a job site. In modular construction, laborers assemble the frame structure room by room for shipment.
The present construction of individual panels and other building components is a labor-intensive operation requiring both semi-skilled and relatively unskilled labor. This operation typically requires the laborers to physically and mentally convert the blueprint measurements by using a steel tape measuring device, thus producing a prototype of the particular panel to be constructed for the building. This step in the production of the panels and building components, sometimes referred to as lathing, is time-consuming. The step of physically converting the measurements into a pattern or lath provides room for human error that is easily overlooked. If the laborers incorrectly measured and constructed the pattern to assemble other similar building components the mistake is magnified. One invention that attempts to automate this step optically enlarges a reduced structural image that has been physically measured to conform to a quadrilateral network that is full scale on an assembly table. The image is projected and enlarged and the nodes of the quadrilateral network of the image are superimposed on the nodes of the quadrilateral network on the assembly table. This step also contains the possibility of human error. More specifically, error may exist in the physical measuring and calculating of the positions of individual structural members used in the assembly of the panel or other building component. Any mistake made during this stage affects the quality of the end product, or possibly a builder's liability to a purchaser.